Exercising machine



Sept. 25, l934. I E, A. CALLESON 1,974,445

EXERCISE MACHINE Filed Jan. 19, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 j as as 10IIIIIIIIIIIIII III II/II/IIII IIIIIIIIIIII lNyENTOR, 17 2 8. rd rlklkwBY v W ATTORNEY.

INVENTC 17 7- ATTORNEY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 E. A. CAL LESON EXERCISE MACHINEFiled Jail. 19, 1933 Sept. 25, 1934.

able indicator;

Patented Sept. 25, 1934 "UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1,974,445nxsacismc, MACHINE Edgar A. Calleson, Merrick, N. Y. Application January19, 1933, Serial No. 652,462

5 Claims. (01. 272-72) This invention relates to exercising apparatusand in the example herein discussed it relates especiallytoexercisingapparatus of the rowingmachine type. be stated as follows: To produce amachine which will in operation simulate the action characterizingactual rowing'in-that the resistance on the rowing or working strokeshall be practically the same, as to constancy, as in actual rowing; toprovide for readily varying the resistance to suit persons of varyingmuscular strength; to provide means which will present to the operatorsome goalto be attained and an indication of the progress made in theeffort to attain such goal; and to construct the entire machine so thatit will be reliable and durable, efficient and noiseless in operation,and simple in construction.

In the annexed drawings,

. Fig. 1 is a. side elevation of the machine of this invention;

Figs. 2 and 3 are end elevations of the machine as seen from the leftand right, respectively,in Fig. 1;

I Fig. 4 is a view, on a larger scale, partly in elevation and partlyinsection on line 4-4, Fig. 5;

Fig. 5 is a sectional View, on the same scale, on line 55, Fig. 4; r

Fig. dis a view showing the rotary member 18 and certain partsassociated therewith partially in plan and partially in horizontalsection.

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view of a detail of the means forimparting motion to the mov- Fig. 8 shows another detail of said means;and Fig. 9 is a sectional view of bracket 16 on line 99, Fig. 4.

The frame of the machine comprises two spaced portions, as side rails '1connected at 2 by crossbars, the intermediate one of which supports afoot-rest 3' set at an incline. Each rail has two depending feet 4.These parts may be all of metal and welded or otherwise securedtogether. On the foot-rest is an adjustable strap 5 to re-'- ceive theoperators feet.

As in the case of a sliding boat-seat the operators seat Gmay travelback and forth on the the seat which engage under the rails to preventaccidental unshipping of the seat. The seat structure may also be ofmetal. v

"Two plates or lugs 11 upstand from the near and one plate or lug12upstands from the other The objects of the invention may rail 1 inFig. 1, being welded thereto, and the pair of lugs 11 and the lug 12receive screws 13 which are tapped into the ends of a shaft 14. Bushings15 on the screws afford bearings for the legs 16a of an upstanding chartor plate struc-. ture 16. Between one leg and one of the lugs 11 is afriction washer 17 which, when the cor: responding screw 13 istightened, will hold the chart or plate structure in any position towhich itmay be shifted on its bearings 15, as in the upright positionshown, it being capable of being folded down against the foot-rest. Astop 16?) (Fig. 1) on the plate structure limits its raising (orclockwise) movement by engaging one of the rails. The shaft should beproof against rotation, as by the upper end of lug or plate 12 beingbent over into engage'mentwith a flat 14a on the shaft (Fig; 4):

On the shaft is a rotary member 18, preferably having a self-lubricatingbearing bushing 19 (as of Arguto wood), which comprises a pulley 20 anda brake-drum 21, the hub of such member being between a sleeve 22, fixedon the shaft by a set-screw 22a, and a collar 23, fixed on the shaft bya set-screw 23a. Coiled aboutthe hub of said member and the sleeve 22 isa spring 24 one end of which is secured to member 18 by a screw 25 andthe other to the sleeve by screw 22a, said spring (which provides theenergy necessary to return member 18 after each rotationby the operator,as will appear) normally acting to ro tate said member clockwise inFigs. 1 and 5. Wound on the pulley 20 is a tug-band or equivalent'flexible device 26 having one end secured to the pulley and the otherequipped with a handle 27; the band extends through-a fork 160 of theplate structure so that the engagement of the handle with said forklimits the returnmotion of member 1'8 in response to the spring. Incertain aspects of the invention it is not material that thepart'engaged by the operator for moving member 18 be a tug-band, asherein shown.

I aim to provide resistance to rotation of member 18 under the pull ofthe tug-band which shall be substantially constant and whichmaybereadily and quickly adjusted so that the machine will be adapted topersons having different muscular strengths. To this end I provide abrake-band or flexible braking element composed of some material capableof stretching as an incident of its frictional grip on the brake-drumportion of said member and I utilize its capacity to stretch or extendin the control of such grip. Bolted to the adjacent cross-bar is a rigidtongue 28 to which is attached one end of such brake-band,

which extends around the pulley 20 in the direction in which member 18is rotated by a pull on the tug-band. The pulley-engaging andstretchable part of this brake-band is, here, a leather strap 29, and ithas an extension, here a threaded stem 30, attached to the free end ofthe strap. The extension or stem passes freely through a hole in thetongue 28 and on its lower end is screwed a nut 32, between which andthe tongue is an expansion spring 33 which acts merely to keep the strapportion hugging the pulley. The tongue may afford an abutment, as at28a, and

on the brake-band (to wit, on its stem) is screwed a nut a forming anabutment adjustable lengthwise of said brake-band and coac'tive withabutment 28a.

by frictional action stretch the brake-band, the resistance graduallyincreasing through a short range :of the rotarymovement-at least untilthe limit of the capacity of said member to stretch is reached; this ofcourse characterizes any, sim-- ilar combination of partsin which the,inherent elasticity of the brake-band affords the graduallyincreasingresistance factor. But by providing the brake-band with a longitudinallyadjustable abutment adapted during the stretching of the brake-band toengage and have its movement and hence the stretching -thereof'limitedby another abutment I can vary the resistance set up and opposed tomember 18; Thus, the further the abutment 30a is adjusted toward theabutment 2% the sooner will the stretching of the brake-band be limitedand the less will be the power necessary to rotate the member 18;conversely, the more abutment 30a is adjusted from abutment 28a(short'of a limit corresponding to the limit of the capacity of thebrake-band to stretch) the greater'will be the power necessary to rotatethe member 18. By simply screwing nut 3006 up or down any operator cantherefore set the resistance to suit his own strength.

The return-rotation of the member 18 by spring 24 is of course notappreciably opposed by the brake-band due to the yielding of spring 33.i

It will be understood that such variation in resistance as is due to theextension or stretch ing of the brake-band is only momentary, to wit,that once the contact of." abutment 36a with abutment 28d occurs (whichis immediately after the member 18 starts to rotate) the pull thereafter is subject to a constant resistance until its termination. Alsothat, while return means 24, because it is a spring, of course opposesincreasihg resistance to the pull it may be and preferably is weakenough so that its variable-resist: ance nature is not appreciable andthe resistance opposed to the pull is substantially a constant one, towit, that of the friction between the rotary member and brake band plusthe tension incident to the stretching of the brake-band and asdetermined by the adjustment of abutment 30a.

The goal to be attained may be some mark on the plate or chart of theplate'structure 16, as the flag bearing Finish in a View depicting somewater scene and showing, say, another flag bearing Sta1't -see Fig. i.At the base of the plate portion of said structure 16 (which isa-casting) is a-transversely extending housing 34 having a top slot 35.In a hearing at the left end of this housing is journaled a rod. 36 keptfrom endwise displacement by a screw and washer With the flexiblestretchable brake-band made to hug the pulley, if the pulley is rotatedin the directiono'f the arrowin 5 by means of the tug-band), it Willstructure has a rearward projection 47 in which 3738 and a pin 39 andwhich forms a stiff core for one end portion of a helical flexible cable40, the extremity of such portion being bent inward into a notch 41(Fig. 8) in the rod so that the rod turns with the cable as a unit. Saidend portion of the cable receives the tubular base 42 of an indicator,here a figure 43, as of a rower, the stem of which penetrates the slotwhich thus keeps the figure upright. Said base has a partiallyencompassing slot 44 (Fig; 7) receiving anannular split ring 45 formingan elastic clutch engaged in the exterior helical groove of the cable sothat when the latter rotates the figure will be advanced lengthwisethereof and yet it can by hand be slid along the cable. The cableprotrudes through the other end of the housing and extends to the meansfor rotating it, thus:

A bracket e6 projecting from a leg of the plate on a bolt 48 isfulcrumed a two-armed lever 49 adapted to be rockedby theffrictional'engage'ment of a strap 50 withtthe hub of member 18, saidstrap having one end attached to one'arrii ofthe lever and the otherprovided withathreaded stem 51 penetrating the ether .lever arm andequipped with an adjusting nut 52between which and said arm is a spring58. On the lever-is journaled a wheel 54' into .iwhose" hub projects thefree end of the cable, held therein by a screw 55 so as to turn-with theWheel. When member 18 is turned anti-clockwise by a pull on the tug-bandthe friction between said-hub and strap 50 causes anti-clockwiseshifting'of the lever, bringing the wheel against a friction sur face 56on the hub, whereby it andthe cable 'are rotated and the figure 4-3advanced'an "increment toward the .g'oalj when member 18 re-rotates inresponse to spring 2 ;v thele've'r' moves reversely, withdrawing thewheel 'from'surface 58, whei'eby each increment of advance of thefigure'is maintained. The parts 54 --40--36, rotative as a unit, I terma one-way rotary means in the appended claims, thereby to expressthat'such means obtains impulses from member 18 formtating' it in onedirection but not the other, after the manner of a pawl and ratchet butwithout incidental noise. The operator can re-set the figure at any timeby sliding it along the cable. When the lever jretracts the motion islimited so that the wheel is not re- 'rotated by the flange of member18) by a stop 57 on the bracket 46, (Figs. 4and5). The helical cable,its axial'bearing elem nt 36 and the wheel in effect form. a screwdevice (more 330 specifically, an elongated rotary motion-transmittingdevice one end portionof which is formed as an inflexible screw and theother flexible) which has tractive engagement with the member 18 and theindicator engaged with its-threading, to wit in the exterior groovesbetween its coils.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim is: i r 1. Anexercising machine comprising, with supporting structure, a rotarymember journaled 14G therein and having a part to be engaged by-theoperator to effect it's 'rotati'on'in one direction andv also having acircumferential braking sur:- face, a stretchable brake band meansattached to said supporting means and extending insaid directionaroundand in frictional engagement with said surface, one of said meanshaving an abutment, and an abutment adjustable: on the other meanstoward and from the first abutment,

said abutments being engageable with each other 1759 on stretching ofthe band incident to such rotation of said member.

2. An exercising machine comprising, with supporting structure, a memberthereon to be r0- tated back and forth and having a part to be engagedby the operator to effect its rotation in one direction, indicatingmeans including an element to be rotated, and a rockable system carriedby said structure and frictionally engaging said member and having saidelement journaled therein, said element on the rocking of said system inone direction being engageable with and adapted to be rotated by saidmember and on the rocking of said system in the other direction beingadapted to clear said member. 7

3. An exercising machine comprising, with supporting structure, a memberthereon to be rotated back and forth and having a part to be engaged bythe operaton to effect its rotation in one direction, indicating meansincluding an element to be rotated, a lever rockable in said structureand in which said element is journaled and a strap extending around andfrictionally engaging said member and having its ends connected to saidlever at opposite sides of its fulcrum, said element on the rocking ofthe lever in one direction being engageable with and adapted to berotated by said member and on the rocking of said system in the otherdirection being adapted to clear said member.

4. In an exercising machine, the combination of a structure comprising aplate-like portion :forming a chart and an elongated portion extendingacross one broad face of the first-named portion and forming therewith aslot, a rotary screw-device Jlournaled in said structure and extendinglengthwise of the second-named portion, and an indicator having athreaded portion engaged with the threaded portion of said device andextending through the slot.

5. In an exercising machine, the combination of a substantiallyinflexible rod, a supporting structure having the rod confined at oneend thereof to rotate in said structure around a fixed axis, a flexiblehelical cable rotativewith and having one end portion receiving andMixed to the rod and its other end extending beyond the other end of therod and adapted to receive rotary impulse, the first-named portion ofthe cable forming an external screw, and anindicator havingscrew-engagement with said screw and held from rotation by and slidablein contact with said structure.

EDGAR A. CALLESON.

